


Overclocked

by CyberSearcher



Series: Various Technoshipping Works [2]
Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: (three guesses whose), Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Jay Is Anxious and Zane is Traumatized I Don't Make the Rules, M/M, Nightmares, Save Echo 2020, Skybound Spoilers, TechnoShipping, no beta reader we die like men, zangst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:54:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23761894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CyberSearcher/pseuds/CyberSearcher
Summary: Where I go, will you still follow?Will you leave your shaded hollow?Will you greet the daylight looming,Learn to love without consuming?-The Oh Hello’s ‘Thus Always To Tyrants’Zane didn’t understand why Jay and Nya didn’t seem to be acting as intimately as before. Or at least acting differently around each other. Jay would sometimes keep an eye on her while she was standing near the ledge of the Bounty, but never approached. He had assumed they’d just broken up. (The 'Finding Echo' AU everyone wants)
Relationships: Jay Walker/Zane, Nya/Jay Walker, past - Relationship
Series: Various Technoshipping Works [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1711813
Comments: 5
Kudos: 61





	Overclocked

**Author's Note:**

> I confess, I haven't seen Skybound, but I know that everyone wants Echo to be happy and I know we are Lacking in Technoshipping. So I decided to provide for both. Also, won't lie, I usually worked on this past 12 to avoid the risk of parents coming in while I wrote Gay Lego Fanfiction. 
> 
> Thanks to the Ninjago Discord Server for asking for more Techno. I promise more is soon to come. So prepare your hearts.
> 
> Mentions of trauma and acknowledgment of all the crap the ninja have gone through.

Zane knew that he was the oddball of the group. His brother didn’t begrudge his quirks anymore and in some cases, found them charming. Next to himself though, Jay held second place. And everyone on the team had no qualms about teasing him about it.

But nowadays, Zane found himself taking note of new behaviors that seemingly developed out of nowhere. 

Zane didn’t understand why Jay and Nya didn’t seem to be acting as intimately as before. Or at least acting differently around each other. Jay would sometimes keep an eye on her while she was standing near the ledge of the Bounty, but never approached. He had assumed they’d broken up and not made a fuss about it. 

It explained why Jay decided to shift his interests towards the nindroid, he never asked for an explanation. Emotions were an odd thing after all. He was just glad Kai didn’t kill Jay beforehand for dumping his sister. 

The nindroid made his way down the quiet halls of the bounty in the middle of the night. Nya had left to spend the day with Skylor and he trusted them both to keep themselves safe. Cole and Kai were helping the police manage some local gangs who had somehow gotten a hold of old Serpentine weapons. 

Just another day in Ninjago. 

He reheated some chilli Kai had left and checked the coffee pot in the kitchen. Bone dry. Zane wasn’t surprised - he knew Jay had an espresso maker hidden in his workshop - but the nindroid did wonder if the lightning ninja had forgotten to eat dinner. 

Taking a bowl and a small mug of tea for himself, Zane wandered across the deck of their airship. The night air blew across his plating, stars danced above him. He let himself have a moment to breath in the air, even if he could no longer smell it. 

Climbing back down to the workshop at the belly of their home, Zane frowned when he found the hallway lights flickering. He himself could feel the static laced in the air. Slowly opening the workshop, Jay appeared to have passed out at his bench. 

Above him, the ceiling lights were strobing rapidly. One had burst entirely. He caught sparks jumping off Jay’s shoulders. The technical displays in front of Jay were glitched and erratic. Beside him, under a mess of chicken scratch designs, was a half finished cup. 

Zane took the scene in with caution. He set the track down quietly and stood a fair distance from the auburn teen. Jay had his forearms folded tight against his face, but Zane could still hear him mumbling. 

“Please, stop it.” A bolt flew off his body and struck a screen, flickering before finally dying. “Oh god, oh god let her go. Let me go please. Stay with me.” 

“Jay. I’m here.” Zane murmured. “I’m right here. I’m with you.” 

He wanted to scoop the smaller man into his arms so badly it stung. But the nindroid better judgement knew how bad of an idea that was. He didn’t want Jay to wake, only to realize he’d accidentally hurt him. 

“I won’t leave you. I’m here for you my love.” 

Jay was still caught in the throes of whatever nightmare had him for five more painfully long minutes. Then, slowly, the lights began to stop pulsing. The monitors returned to normal. Zane watched on anxiously as Jay’s eyes suddenly flew open, wide and terrified. He jumped up and knocked the chair backwards. 

“Jay, Jay, I’m here.” The nindroid held his arms out, taking a step forward. “I’m here.” 

The lightning ninja was panting in broken breaths, until he focused on the calm blue glow of his partner's eyes.

“Z-Zane?” He said, voice raw. 

“Yes. You’re on the Bounty. It’s nighttime. I’m standing here with you.” Zane said. “I’m here.” 

The nindroid wondered if this was because of the previous incident with the van. He banished that thought for now. Jay limply stumbled forward and into his waiting arms. Zane supported him easily, pulling up the chair and letting Jay sit himself on his lap. 

He pushed a hand through his hair, keeping one arm wrapped securely around the shaking teen. “Shh, I’m here. Are you hungry?” 

Jay shook his head. “I-I’ll be fine.” 

“Please, just a little?” Zane asked. 

He looked over the nindroid shoulder to the tray sitting close by. “Alright.” 

Only half of the bowl was finished, but Zane wouldn’t force him to finish the rest. Jay had quiet streaks of tears dripping down his cheeks, but he didn’t seem inclined to hide them. He kept his damp cheek pressed over his power source, arms draped over his shoulders. The ice ninja made sure to push the mug of espresso out of view. 

The auburn teen fought and failed to suppress an incoming yawn. Zane just smiled fondly, still playing with his hair. “Would you like me to carry you back to the bedrooms?” 

“Please?” Jay admitted shyly. 

“It is of no issue.” 

Jay didn’t make any move to unwrap his arms from around his neck. Zane realized the cue and opted to hook his arms under him and carried him back to their rooms. As he made his way across the open deck, Jay buried his face deeper into his shoulder and refused to look over the edge. 

Zane pressed his cheek to the freckles teen as they walked. Nobody else was in their room, that was a small mercy at least. His eyes cast a soothing pale glow across the rumpled bed sheets of Jay’s bed. He gradually uncurled himself from the nindroid torso, but kept a firm grip on his hands. 

They sat in silence for several quiet beats. Zane considered leaving Jay to rest, but the other seemed to sense his decision before he made it. 

“Please,” He murmured, resting his forehead on his shoulder, “can you stay?” 

“I will.” 

Dimming the light of his eyes, Zane let Jay rest himself across his torso. He often wondered if that was uncomfortable for the human to sleep on. But Jay never complained. The freckled teens breathing returned to an even place, but he didn’t seem to be falling asleep anytime soon. 

“I’ll tell you in the morning.” Jay whispered. “Everything. M’ sorry.”

Zane tilted his head. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”

He heard Jay sniffle at that statement, then mutter something that sounded like ‘course you wouldn’t know’ but the nindroid didn’t want to assume. To help him relax, Zane continued to brush his fingers through Jay’s auburn hair. 

The human gave a content sigh and nuzzled closer to him, once again pressing his cheek over his heart. Zane smiled for himself, completely endeared by the action. He remained awake long after Jay finally fell asleep. Then just as he heard the clamouring of footsteps from the others, followed Jay into slumber. 

::::

Kai was the first to make a joke in the morning. 

“Of course you’d be able to fall asleep on a toaster.” He said, stuffing fistfuls of dry cereal into his mouth. 

Jay just sipped at his hot chocolate from the couch. Zane insisted he not have any more caffeine. “Shut up.” 

Cole reached over to ruffle his messy hair. “Had a long night?” 

The lighting ninja said nothing, Zane saw the jump of static right before it zapped Cole. “Ow, dude! Not cool.” 

“Jay did not sleep easily, but there was no sexual activity involved I can assure you.” Zane said deadpan. “It would be best to not poke the thundercloud further.”

“You hear him guys” Lloyd agreed, stealing Kai’s cup of coffee. 

Cole and Kai relented, instead opting to argue over the merits of cereal with or without milk. Jay continued to sit with his knees pulled up to his chest. Nya walked in, grumbling about how her computers were having trouble loading files. 

Lloyd offered to spar with the others in the kitchen and even extended the offer to Jay. He denied it instantly. 

Zane watched this all quietly. Once the sounds of the others were distant, he turned to Jay who hadn’t finished his drink and just stared down at it. He reached up to scratch at his eye before stopping and setting down the mug.

“Do you remember when Nya learned Airjitzu?” Jay asked. “While we were running away from those press junkies and had to hide up on that billboard?” 

“Yes.” Zane said. 

That part of his memory had always felt off. It was also only a few weeks after that he began to observe Jay and Nya were not as intimate as they had been before. No thin excuses to escape training to go on dates or stolen kisses as they passed one another in the halls. He figured they were trying to be polite.

Jay went to scratch at his eye. Zane caught his hand and laid it on his lap. “Y-yea. Well… something happened. Do you… remember anyone named Nadakhan?” 

The nindroid searched his memories for that name. “No, I have no record of any individuals with that name. But he strikes me as familiar.”

Jay somehow managed to pull tighter on himself at that statement. “He is - was? - a djinn. He- ,” the teen tipped back a long gulp of lukewarm hot chocolate, “he posed as us, turned us into wanted criminals. T-then he started capturing the r-rest of you into some stupid magic sword. A-all of you w-were gone and i-it was only me a-and Nya and now-w ev-verything f-fine. You don’t remember it all right? And th-hat’s good, isn’t it?”

His voice was laced with stutters as he spilled out his confession. Zane found himself struck dumb by it all. It made no logical sense, but the nindroids knew ‘logical sense’ was about as useful as a broken sword when defining their lives. He reached out to hug Jay, but the auburn teen only shook his head.

“B-but of course I have to remember it all!” He threw his arms in the air. “Of c-course I have to rem-member being us-sed as a sandbag for sky pirates! Of course I h-have to remember run-ning for o-our lives and w-watching you all v-vanish! I saw N-nya die! No, of course I c-can’t forget it all because I h-have t-to s-see it every night!”

Zane was starting to grow scared. Jay’s grief was beginning to border on hysterics.

“A-and my st-tupid ass th-though if I j-just th-though it was all a dre-eam it’d s-stop. So I sh-shut up and I n-never t-thought ab-bout telling y-you about your l-lost brother b-because I’m s-such a coward. And now you kn-now and y-you’ll hate m-me for n-not saying anyt-thing and I complet-tely deserve it - “ 

Zane felt himself move before he could stop. He lunged at Jay. The other barked out a “I told you!” before he was cut off by his face being pressed against the nindroids humming chest. He anxiously carded silver fingers through his hair and pressed his cheek against Jay’s freckles. 

“I could never hate you.” Zane whispered, voice beginning to grow staticy. “I could never hate you. I love you.”

The lighting ninja's arms hung limp at his sides. “E-even if I k-kept your b-brother a s-secret for weeks f-for such a st-tupidly selfish r-reason?” 

Zane considered his wording for a moment. “I do not think I have any right to call you selfish for denying trauma.”

Jay finally looked up at him, anguish slowly giving way to confusion. The nindroid inhaled deep and forced his voice not to cut out or stutter. 

“I do not speak of my father's death to any of you because I myself do not want to linger on that though. Or the very idea that I may outlive all of you. You recall when I said I do not want to see you hurt. It would be more painful than any death to watch you d-die.”

This close to Zane, Jay could hear the broken sounds of the nindroids inner components. He knew that tell far too well. Jay chucked quietly, a bitter and short sound. “God, we’re such a mess, aren’t we?”

“I suppose we should book some form of therapy for yourself. Perhaps for the rest of the team as well.” Zane mused, tempted to begin searching now, but instead kept his focus. “But my point stands, I could never hate you, my little thundercloud.” 

Jay hid his face again, but it wasn’t quick enough to hide the blush that obscured his freckles. For good measure, Zane kissed his cheek. 

However, he still had one question. “Does Nya recall… these events?”

“I d-don’t know.” Jay confessed. “I don’t think - she doesn’t have nightmares like me. B-but we still dec-cided to break up because she wanted to focus more on who sh-she was and I realized how shallow our relationship k-kinda was.”

“Would you like me to speak to her on your behalf?” Zane offered.

“I want to tell her myself… but I don’t think I can.” Jay said solemnly. “Not yet, but I want to.”

“Then I will not begrudge you otherwise.” He stated. “However, I would like to find this brother of mine you spoke of.”

Zane meant to keep his voice even, but there was a small pit of dread in his stomach. Why his father didn’t tell him about this, he would never know. Perhaps it was out of isolation, or some similar sense of guilt to Jay. But he could forgive his father regardless. The lighting ninja nodded, then pulled himself away from the nindroids embrace.

“Yea, but is it okay if we don’t tell the others about him?” Jay requested. “Please? Not until after I tell Nya. He could stay with my parents if he wants to, sorry, but it’s not much.”

“I understand the need.” Zane obliged. “And I will make an effort to keep my visits with him discreet. But do not apologize for simply having a different home, your offer is still generous.” 

Jay looked to be near crying again, but he just pressed their foreheads together. “What did I do to deserve you?” 

“You did nothing but be you.” Zane cupped the back of his neck. “I did not fall in love with your mechanical skills, nor your witty humor. I fell in love with you and you alone.” 

He let his eyes fall half-shut, but Jay could see the way his pale light grew brighter. Jay kissed him on the nose, revealed for a moment as Zane’s fans stuttered, then vaulted off the couch. “C’mon, we can tell the others we were heading out, they’ll assume the rest.”

“Assume what?” Zane asked, confused and flustered on the couch. It took a moment, but Jay smirked once the Ice ninja realized. “Oh.”

“Oh is correct, Flurry.” 

Jay was smiling, but not the slightly too-broad grin he sometimes used. It was the shy, sweet grin Zane couldn’t stop seeing while he thought of him. He grabbed the nindroids hand and Zane followed his boyfriend as they dove off the side of the Bounty together, summoning their dragons as they flew towards the sea. 

The travel, while not short, felt almost painfully brief. Jay would always insist on urging his mount to do tricks in the air and occasionally dive bombed unsuspecting villagers. Zane couldn’t say he was better though; blowing soft bursts of snow across schools and plazzas to confuse residents. 

At one point, Jay summoned a burst of thunder while Zane blasted a cone of cold down to kick up sand, to the shock of a pair of lovers as they lounged on the beaches. Both of them shared several beautiful moments of laughter at that. In a fit of impulse, the Ice Ninja froze an incoming wave and glossed over the wave of ice before it broke. 

He repeated the process again for Jay, but that resulted in his dragon fumbling across the slick surface before the Lighting ninja frantically flew away. But not before swallowing a good mouthful of water in the process. Zane only continued to laugh at his expense.

“Oh come on, you did that on purpose!” Jay complained as he tried to shake out his drooping curls.

The nindroid flew close enough to nudge his dragon's wing mid-flight. “Perhaps you are not as dexterous as you seem.” 

“You of all people know how dexterous I am.” Jay grinned.

It didn’t take as long for Zane to understand the implication this time and quickly averted his eyes so he didn’t get the satisfaction of seeing his flushed face. After a few giddly minutes of banter, Zane and Jay finally caught sight of the diapilated lighthouse. 

Jay grew quiet even as they landed at the rocky base. Time hadn’t been kind to the outer walls, heavily stained with salt and bird excrement on all sides. The door was encrusted with barnacles and the lock was rusted over. They both looked up to the looming building. Zane reached for Jay’s hand and he gave a reassuring squeeze.

The door wasn’t locked and Zane’s eyes provided enough light to illuminate the few crates and the odd gear that scattered the floor. Jay knelt down to collect them in the toolbox he brought, frowning at the rust that marred the metal. Walking over to one of the walls and pushing aside a stack of crates, he revealed a secret lever Zane never noticed before.

Pulling it revealed a short corridor that ran under the ground of the small island. Jay wrinkled his nose at the strong stench of dead seaweed but led Zane inside without comment. Inside, Zane’s eyes wandered around the small space. 

It looked lived in, despite the disrepair. Dry cans of oil were stacked on crates. Zane leaned over to see sheets of yellowed paper covered in small pebbles, salt crystals and pressed flowers. He realized it was a collage of an open field. Springs and old-fashioned pumps were gathered on a shelf at the back of the room. His foot hit another gear that Jay knelt down to gather.

“Echo?” He called out. “Hey, we’re not here to hurt you. We’re friends of your father, Dr. Julien.” 

Jay started with intent at the shelf. Zane caught it shaking for a moment. Then he saw the pale orange eyes lean out from behind, a familiar rusty face stared back. 

“But I am Zane, built to protect those who cannot protect themselves. You know my father?” His mirror - his _brother_ \- asked, voice almost uncannily familiar, save for the higher pitch. 

“Yea.” Jay held out the gears like one would do for a skittish cat. “Come here, we’ll help fix you.” 

Those yellow eyes finally seemed to notice him. Zane caught himself staring against his will. His brother looked at him with an expression he couldn’t pin down. Somewhere between awe and excitement. 

“You are like me.” Echo stated. “But you are not me.” 

“Yes. We are not alike, but we are similar.” Zane offered a hand beside Jay. “We are brothers.” 

Echo blinked and leaned forward curiously. “Brothers? What are brothers?” 

“Brothers care for one another. They love each other and take care of one another.” Zane explained, a giddy feeling building in his chest. “I would be proud to call you brother.” 

Echo then finally stepped forward. His gait was shaky and once he came into view, part of Zane’s heart broke at the sight of his broken body. Something must’ve given away internally and his rusted brother fell forward. Both he and his boyfriend were quick to catch him. 

Jay worked quick, resetting the gears and replacing all the wiring he could. Zane took a rag and solvents and began cleaning off all the rust. Their uniforms were both stained red and brown, but neither cared. 

“Did you come from the mainland?” Echo asked, keeping up a constant stream of questions. “What does grass feel like? How big is it? What are the buildings like? What do other people look like?” 

“Hey, don’t worry, you’ll get to see it all once you’re out of here.” Jay answered. 

“What about father?” He wondered. “Will he be there too?” 

Jay saw Zane’s hand still as he worked on Echo’s arm. “Father… is not on the mainland. He is not here either. But he remains with us.” 

Echo leaned in again, only more curious. “Where is he?” 

Zane tapped over his heart. “He lives on in me,” he reached to carefully lay a hand over his brothers ticking heart, “and he lives on in you. We carry his memory and his legacy. He remains part of us, even if he can no longer physically be here.” 

“I do not understand.” 

“You will some day,” Zane reached for the nape of Echo’s neck, finding the hair there to be tangled and coarse, “It is something that takes time to learn, but I have faith you will.” 

“Classic Zane.” Jay muttered under his breath. 

The nindroid just batted his shoulder playfully. “You will learn in time, brother. There is so much I want to show you.” 

Echo looked down Zane’s arm as he reached for his neck. Then with shaking hands, mirrored his brother's action and slowly pressed their foreheads together. The soft ticking of his heart grew a breath louder and Zane’s soft humming grew more prominent. 

“Thank you, brother.” 

Jay watched it all with a smile as a floating sensation filled his body, like he was finally breathing fresh air for the first time in weeks.


End file.
